Clash of ideals
by xellos540
Summary: It had been two years since Keima Katsuragi and Elsie de Lute Irma had first met and Keima, having gotten closer to the real world, is doing well. Or is he? Can an unexpected visit from his ever-passionate teacher open his heart and help him out? Then again, is there anything to gain in a clash between two believers in vastly different ideals? Read to find out! Now a three-shot!
1. Clash of ideals

**Hello, everyone!**

 **I'm back and I bring you another one of my one-shots (well, it was supposed to be a one-shot, but I kinda decided to split it into two chapters), this time dedicated to Jun Nagase. I know she isn't the most popular character in th TWGOK fandom, but I hope you'll enjoy this fic nonetheless.**

 **Before you dive in, there's a few things to mention.**

 **First, this is a standalone story, unrelated to my The World Not Only God Knows series.**

 **Second, I didn't forget about the The World Kanon Only Knows. It'll be obviously delayed a bit because of this, but I'll get to writing it soon.**

 **Third, as usual I tried to stay true to the manga, which made designing this fic a bit difficult. That's one of the reasons why it's so long, but I guess it'd be better to talk about this after you're done with the first chapter.**

 **Lastly, I dedicate this two-shot to my brother, who's one of the favorite KamiNomi character is Jun. :)**

 **Enjoy!**

 **(* * *)**

The god of conquests leaned back in his throne and stretched his arms before surveying his small kingdom, otherwise known as his room.

Some parts of his domain remained unchanged. His gaming chair no. 3 was still there, even if it was already past its prime and so were six wide-screen monitors and row of consoles, supplemented by an emergency power generator. Unchanged was his single cabinet, full of latest games or games too important to keep them in the other room that served as his primary game storage. In place were the few posters, a desk and a bed, while the dark curtains prevented the weak March sunlight from interfering with his conquests.

Thus, on first glance the life of Keima Katsuragi didn't change at all and was the same as 2 years ago, when he had first met Elucia de Lute Irma, an adorable though ditzy and clumsy devil from hell, posing as his half-sister and a high schooler. None of that held true right now however – Eri Katsuragi was now not a devil, but a full-fledged human and his genuine sister.

And she wasn't a high schooler anymore. Neither of them was, as both of them had graduated from high school very recently. Eri was very proud of the fact, apparently forgetting that she was only able to do this with Keima's help.

However, Eri wasn't the only one who had changed.

Keima turned off his games, got up and walked to his window, before pulling the curtains aside and opening the window wide, bathing his room with light and letting the fresh air in. Only when one knew Keima's previous habits and could look closer with proper lighting, one could notice subtle changes in his life.

Unlike 2 years ago, when Keima would game all day long, keeping his domain hidden in darkness illuminated only by his monitors and even attracting crows to his room, this time his room was well-lit most of the time. Keima was quite an organized person, so nothing in his room was ever out of place, but his attitude towards the real kept him from keeping anything aside from his gaming equipment and games clean. It was different now, as Keima's room was quite clean and there were even some flowers on the desk and windowsill.

His clothes closet was replaced with a bigger one as he had more clothes now (it was mostly others who chose them for him though) and his desk was littered with stuff. It was related to games, but more to designing games than playing them. Moreover, there was a set of framed pictures. One showed Keima and Eri, while another portrayed them with their parents. Third pictures had Keima and several teenage girls during a shrine visit or some festival – all of them wearing yukatas. The fourth picture showed Keima with one of the girls from the previous photo – the one with shorter brown hair – in winter clothes. Finally, the fifth and latest picture showed the recent high school graduation ceremony.

Keima grabbed the only thing on the desk that was directly related to playing games – his trusty PFP – and walked outside of his room, not bothering to close it. He walked by Eri's room, its door ajar just like his. Her room was much more messy than his though with various stuff, including music books, lying all over the place and with walls covered with many posters, some of them overlapping themselves. Eri herself was not there however. Probably out with some of her friends or enjoying some rāmen in Narusawa.

Keima walked downstairs, but the place was empty. Dad was obviously out of town, though this time fortunately not out of the country, but where was mom? The riddle solved itself when Keima walked to the living room and saw a sheet of paper. It was another "Eri and Mari are out shopping" message completed with cartoon drawings. He could swear he could hear people in the house 10 minutes ago, so they had left very recently. That meant there won't be anyone here for an hour or two. Keima sighed, before he sat by the table and started playing.

Now that his life was no longer spent being forced to court real girl, searching for goddesses and saving the worlds Keima had enough time to catch up on his gaming and rarely had the need to go on a gaming binge that required multiple monitors. Thus, he spent a lot of time gaming in other places, like parks, the living room like here, or even Eri's room. Actually, he was spending quite a lot of time in his little sister's room. He had thought that Eri would like to spend more time with other people in her new family, especially with Keiichi, as she had only met him recently. However, Eri seemed to spend a lot of time with Keima instead. Maybe he underestimated the affection Eri had for him. It was certainly more than he deserved...

The funny thing was, while Keima still preferred to game alone most of the time, he actually liked if they were people somewhere nearby. Of course not any ordinary real people... but his family or... friends. This was proof of how much he had changed. He sighed again, thinking what his life had taken him for the last 2 years...

And then he heard the doorbell ring.

Keima raised his head. It wasn't the café bell, but the one from the regular entrance, so it wasn't a customer.

Who could it be? Chances were it was some annoying salesman. Then again it could be Tenri. Or Shiori. Hell, it could be half of 2-B pencils members for all he knew – they had been here at least twice since the graduation. Keima sighed once again, before he stood up. Whoever it was, it was his responsibility to answer the door.

He walked to the door, but not before the bell rang for the second time.

"Yes, how can I help-" Keima started, but trailed off when he saw who was the visitor. It wasn't any salesman or 2-B pencils or any of the goddess hosts. It wasn't even Chihiro.

It was Jun.

Jun Nagase, the beginner teacher at Maijima Private High School.

What was she doing here?

"Katsuragi-kun?" Nagase asked, almost as if Keima was the last person she expected to meet here.

"Nagase... sensei?" Keima played along, mostly because of his own surprise.

The continued to look at each other for a moment.

"Umm... may I come in?" Nagase asked.

"Please," Keima let her in.

"Pardon me for intruding," the young woman uttered nervously as she took her shoes off. She was around 24 years old, but she could easily pass as Keima's peer, especially since she was acting like a flustered teenage girl at the moment.

"Um, where is everybody else?" Nagase asked as they entered the living room.

"My mother and sister are out shopping and father is out of town working," Keima explained, "so if you have business with any of them..."

"Well, it would be better if your mother was here" Nagase started, "but my business is with you, Katsuragi-kun,"

"I see," Keima stopped another sigh, "please take a seat then," Keima pointed to one of the small sofas by the table. He had a rough idea what Nagase wanted, especially after this comment about his mother. "Do you want something to drink?" he asked. "We server good coffee."

"Yes, please," Nagase responded politely as she sat down.

"I'll be right back," Keima said and walked to the café section of the house, not seeing that Nagase followed him with her eyes and smiled fondly.

Taking proper care of guests, she thought, Katsuragi-kun sure had changed a lot.

She pulled out a set of documents and some papers from the briefcase she had brought with her and browsed through them. Then she tried waiting for a minute, but patience wasn't really a strong suit of her. She preferred to act as soon as possible and when she was unable to do so, she became nervous. Well, Katsuragi had always been one of the few students who could make her nervous, so it was nothing new. She started to look around, as she had never been here before. She knew that Katsuragi had been living here for over ten years now and it seemed a rather normal house – certainly not something that would explain the gaming frenzy the boy exhibited. Or used to exhibit.

"Here you are," Keima appeared next to her suddenly, startling her and putting two cups of coffee on the table. Either she was lost in her thoughts a little too long or he had made this coffee really fast. Perhaps it was some quick and cheap sort of coffee?

"So," Keima started as soon as he sat down, "what brings you here, sensei?"

Nagase straighten herself and coughed.

"Yes, my purpose today is mostly career counseling."

Keima didn't reply immediately. It was obvious Nagase wasn't here for the coffee and cookies or to catch up, but he wasn't expecting _that_. Moreover, Nagase wasn't wearing her regular teacher clothes or any formal jacket. She was wearing a slightly plain brown sweater that somehow suited her character well and complimented the color of her hair and eyes as well as long black skirt.

However, it wasn't time to admire clothes.

"Career counseling?" he repeated. "What kind of a ridiculous idea is this?"

"Isn't that a bit rude?" Jun furrowed her brow, "it's common for teachers to give career counseling to their students. It's common sense, right?"

"No it's not. I'm not a high school student anymore," Keima didn't even bat an eyelash, "and you're not my teacher anymore... and it's not like you've ever been my homeroom teacher, right?"

Jun bit her lip at that. Katsuragi-kun was right. A good part of her last year as a university student had been spent thinking about going back to Maijima high Private School as a full-fledged teacher and being there for the students. And somehow most of her expectations had been connected to Katsuragi-kun. She had promised to go back and make him stop playing games She would be lying if she said she didn't hope to become his homeroom teacher when she had applied to Mai-High after graduating.

Alas, despite her sincerest efforts and the intercession by Nikaidō-senpai, it hadn't come out to be. The principal deemed Jun too hot-headed to put her in charge of the first years and too inexperienced to take care of the third years and properly prepare them for the exams. Thus, Jun had ended up teaching second years, while Katsuragi-kun had become a third year.

Jun disliked that outcome and, for some reason, Nikaidō-senpai didn't like it either, saying something about quitting her job. It was weird. Why would you quit a job when you're 25? And if Nikaidō-senpai wanted to quit so badly, why didn't she quit in the end?

And most important of all, why was the relationship between Nikaidō-senpai and Katsuragi-kun so... weird? The last time Jun had seen those two interact it was Nikaidō-senpai harassing Katsuragi-kun to the point of kicking him during PE! And Katsuragi-kun certainly hadn't been fond of senpai back then. However, that last year, it had been obviously different. I mean, the hostility between senpai and Katsuragi-kun lessened considerably. But that hadn't been all. Jun hadn't been able to pin-point it, but somehow she had realized that whatever hostility had remained wasn't really there. It hadn't been just for show, letting her conclude that Nikaidō-senpai and Katsuragi-kun were on rather good terms right now.

Somehow that particular thought irked Jun, but she couldn't understand why. Teaching was basically an occupation to make friends with students, so wasn't this great? Moreover, Katsuragi-kun had seemed to change a lot. Of course, he still played his games, but less so and he got along better, once again not with everyone, but it was still a giant progress. When one looked into the boy's eyes one could sometimes see the distant stare, some touch of melancholy or some sparks of joy over some game... but now one could also see awareness and concern for his friends. And more often than before, his gaze was focused and aiming at the real world here and now, instead of his games.

Was all this Nikaidō-senpai's doing? Jun had asked her senior that before, but hadn't been able to get a clear answer. Moreover, Nikaidō-senpai seemed just a little bit... flustered? Anyway, was this why Jun felt envious?

Oh, Jun knew that what she felt was envy, but she wasn't clear about the reason for it. She reckoned that it was because Nikaidō-senpai had managed to reach out to Katsuragi-kun before Jun herself could. Stealing her achievement if you will. Or maybe she was jealous because Nikaidō-senpai seemed to be able to get along with Katsuragi-kun well and Jun didn't.

Yes, this was an issue for the younger teacher. As a teacher she was supposed to be friends with Katsuragi-kun, yet she had failed at that. Maybe it was because she had been bothering him too often. She couldn't be his homeroom teacher and had next to no classes with him, but that didn't mean she couldn't talk to him. And thus it started...

This personal war of theirs.

Again and again Jun would appear in front of Katusragi and try to reason with him. It wasn't the worst strategy out there – Katsuragi-kun was a logical person after all – but the results were meager. And every little bit of progress cost her dearly. Katsuragi-kun was a really calm person and Jun was an optimistic full to the brim with positive energy, but during an actual confrontation it turned out they could wear each other down. Thus, those clashes of theirs always turned into a big fights. Of course they didn't try to punch, strangle or claw at each other, though Jun sometimes had to suppress a weird desire to put Katsuragi-kun into a choking hold. Even weirder and stronger was her desire to tackle him to the ground.

Anyway, they never really hurt each other physically, didn't call each other names and didn't use foul language. They did, however, insult each other views once or twice and particularly long arguments could be loud.

However, the bottom line was that while she had done her best and Katsuragi-kun had changed the net result was that she had failed to keep her second promise.

The promise to make him stop playing games.

But she hadn't been beaten yet! She could still fight and win and she'll do it, just like Jumbo Tsuruma had taught her!

What had Katsuragi-kun said just now? That he wasn't in high school and she wasn't his teacher anymore? Let's see...

"Didn't you just call me 'sensei' a moment ago, though?" she crossed her arms over her chest and Keima made a weird noise. Was it a hiss or a gasp? And why would he make it?

"So what? It's common courtesy to use such titles," he responded, his composure wavered just a tiny bit for some reason, "besides I already received career counseling."

"Not from me," Jun retorted.

"Like I said, you're not my teacher," Keima crossed his arms over his chest as well, "why do I have to put up with something as bothersome as career counseling for the second time?"

They eyed each other, neither made any reckless moves, but neither backed back. Jun was nervous. She was well-aware that she was a guest here and kind of intruding. If she pushed too hard now, Katsuragi-kun would simply tell her to leave and she wouldn't be able to argue with that. Now, even a normal person could tell this wasn't a talk between a teacher and a student. It was a combat between enemies. Well, sort of enemies. Both of them could tell they had some respect for the other party, probably tied to the fact that they could match each other in an argument.

And this was why Jun believed she still had a shot at this.

"Let's not be hasty here," she started with a friendly smile, "what I want to do is for your benefit, Katsuragi-kun. Can you at least listen to what I have to say?"

Keima was thinking. The good news was mother wasn't home. If she was it would be much worse. The bad news was that this development definitely seemed like trouble. And while career counseling couldn't be too bad, he was sure Nagase would try to start another battle of her "stop playing games" campaign at the first opportunity.

The old Keima would simply tell her to get out. So much for that...

"Fine," he said, reaching for his cup of coffee, "speak your piece."

Jun smiled brightly and relaxed. While Keima didn't exactly like her boundless optimism, thinking it was way over the top, he did prefer to see Jun like that – smiling and with purpose, instead of being anxious, scared or uncertain. Making girls capable of experiencing happiness was the point of exorcising loose spirits, wasn't it? But Jun wasn't in possession of such a spirit anymore... yet her switch to a happy mood affected him more than he had expected.

Why?

Jun's voice interrupted him before he could further ponder about it.

"The main reason I'm here, Katsuragi-kun," the brown-haired woman started, "is because I learned you don't plan to enter any university," she looked him in the eye. "Is that correct?"

"Yes," Keima replied.

"Could you tell me why have you decided on that?" Jun asked. She took care not to insinuate anything. She didn't want to suggest he was a NEET or lazy.

"It's not uncommon thing to do," Keima replied indirectly, "a lot of graduates don't enter any university."

"That's true," Jun seemingly agreed, "some of them are not suitable for university. Some want to enter, but simply fail. And some merely don't believe in their current skill and wait for the next opportunity in the upcoming years. They're the so-called ronins."

Jun paused for a moment, but continued when Keima didn't offer any comment.

"However, you aren't any of those, Katsuragi-kun," she said, putting in front of him a copy of a document Keima had already seen, "provided you actually try, you posses the best academic ability in virtually any subject you choose. I believe you're the best student our school had in a long time. Possible best student ever."

"Wrong," Keima held up the copy of his results, "I bet there were students better than me."

He had expected confusion or an argument. He hadn't expected for Jun to chuckle.

"What is so funny?" he asked.

"Katsuragi-kun," Jun started and Keima furrowed his brow. The way she had said his name just now... it sounded almost affectionate, "you don't think I'm that stupid, do you?"

"I don't follow," he said, his perfect poker face in place.

"I'm not talking about this sloppy marks," Jun pointed to his final high school test results, "no, I'm talking about when you _really_ try... you see, I've seen your previous tests and I know you a bit already. I know what you're capable of Katsuragi-kun," she finished, seemingly happy with herself.

"You think I could do better than this?" Keima asked, but he already knew what Nagase's answer would be like.

"I think you're a genius," she said. "Whether it's a natural talent or a self-taught skill, you could've obtained perfect score in all theoretical and practical tests if you tried... and it would come to you easier than passing the tests at all for average students... no, Katsuragi-kun. You might be many things, but you're not stupid and you're not lazy."

Keima grit his teeth a little. This was worse than he had thought. He had always tried for perfect scores in regular tests because that allowed him to game at school. However, the final tests weren't important, so he took those exams half-assedly, just doing well enough to not worry mom. Yet, Nagase saw through this.

"I don't need better marks," he responded, "and what's your point anyway? That I could enter any university I want? I know that. But I don't want or need to go to university."

"Then what do you plan to do in life?" Jun asked. "Somehow, I don't see you working in a bakery. Two years ago I'd say you'd be fine living with your parents or being a NEET, but I doubt it now... so what do you want to do?"

"Game design and testing," Keima replied immediately. He had expected Nagase to be surprised, but her reaction surprised him instead.

"But that requires studying at a technical university!" the teacher objected, obviously prepared for his decision.

"No, it doesn't," Keima replied.

"Yes, it does!" Nagase repeated.

"Listen," he leaned over the table, "I know what you want to say. And if I were any other person, you'd be right. But I'm me. You've no idea what I know about games."

"Impress me," Jun challenged. Neither noticed what her line was implying, nor that she leaned closer as well.

"I've played over ten thousand dating simulation games and plenty of others," Keima said quickly, fearing Nagase would interrupt him, "you might not know this, but I run a website about games with great success. On the Internet I'm called the "god of conquest". There's no second person like me on the planet when it comes to dating sims. I'm contacted by companies when they want advice on making games. I could be assistant for any game-related business, being it a game company, a game shop or an amusement park."

"Then why not prove it by going to university?" Jun asked.

"Because I don't need that. University is just a big waste of money and time," Keima said. He was surprised yet again. He had expected Nagase to not believe him. To argue with him. At the very least he had expected her to be insulted, because she was university graduate herself. Yet it didn't seem like it was the case. "Look, there's this gaming company in Narusawa City. All I need is to go to them, prove to them that I'm the "god of conquest" and the job I love is as good as mine."

"I didn't know about your... qualifications," Nagase said, "and I didn't know you've already had your eye on a company."

"You didn't seem too happy about this," Keima noticed, "why is that? Is it because you realize I don't need career counseling from you?"

He had to admit. Back during her conquest, Nagase had been really fragile overall and her confidence could be shattered easily, even if she could restore it later. Right now, however, she displayed a considerable poker face as well, not reacting too much, even though it was clear to Keima that his words hit the mark.

"Or," he continued, not sure why, perhaps it was the need to get to the bottom of this, that obvious issue that was between them, "are you disappointed that I chose a career that is related to games?"

Jun could feel her stomach churn. She was used to people shooting her ideas down, but with Katsuragi-kun it was different. She had never met anyone quite like him. It was as if he was a being from another dimension. In that case it was only natural he was occupying her mind a lot, right? Aaah! What was she thinking about?

"That may be," she replied, "but my point is that your potential is much more than that! Think about it Katsuragi-kun! Think how much you could help if you-"

"So you're saying I should become a doctor and save lives instead?" he questioned.

"Yes, for example," Jun admitted, happy she got her point across.

"Do you even know why I play games so much?" he asked and continued before Jun could reply. "It's because I consider it my duty to save the lives of game heroines-"

"Who aren't even real!" Jun shot back. "What good comes from that? Aside from your own enjoyment?"

It was Keima's turn to feel anxious, his eyes narrowing. Two years ago he'd just laugh in Nagase's face, but nowadays he wasn't so sure. He had come to realize that her point was partially correct – real might be a crappy game, but there was no escape from it. It had also proved it could provide very satisfying playthroughs. The thing was that one had to face the real directly instead of trying to win it easily.

And Keima had decided to give it a try, essentially putting a powerful weapon into Nagase's hands.

"So should all gamers and game developers do something else or simply disappear from the face of the Earth, is that what you're implying?"

"No," Jun replied, somewhat surprising him, "it's just... I don't know why you don't realize there's so much more things people can be doing!"

"I love games," Keima stated simply, "you might hate them, but I thought you of all people would understand my passion. How would you react if any school refused to hire you unless you stop watching wrestling first?"

From outside it was a really relevant question. Keima didn't raise his voice either. But inside he was troubled. Why did he say that? He wasn't trying to hurt her, after all. He just wanted for her to _understand_. Furthermore, why was it so important for Nagase to understand? It was his world, not hers. Their worlds were very different...

Then again, maybe they weren't...

Back then during her conquest Nagase had tried to change him. She had sought events with him, while Keima had tried to change the route to anything but the teacher route. It had been those conflicting agendas that had blinded them both from seeing the truth. However, now Keima didn't have her to worry about making Nagase angry or trying to make her fall in love with him. Maybe that was why he did notice that the two of them were actually similar. They were both hot-headed, at least when their favorite topic of games or wrestling were discussed.

They were both passionate.

Idealistic.

Stubborn...

He was brought back from his musings by Jun's soft whisper.

"I see..."

Keima blinked.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"I just imagined if I could work as wrestling commentator or something... and then I imagined people trying to talk me out of doing it," Jun explained slowly, her head downcast, "I guess I see your point..."

"Did... did you just... concede?" Keima asked. He didn't receive a hit on his head with a hammer, so why did it feel as if he did?

"I guess I just did," Jun admitted, her expression becoming more gloom by the second.

What else could she say in this situation? She had no more arguments. Did she even want to have them?

Keima was quiet for a few seconds, a strange idea sprouting in his mind.

"Am I not a problem child?" he asked and Nagase chuckled softly.

"Of course you are..."

"Then why are you going easy on me?"

Jun raised her head, eyes widened a bit.

"Well," she spoke slowly, "I guess I don't have anything I could convince you with and-"

"I'm not talking about today," Keima said, "I mean not only about today. You have been going easy on me for some time now."

"What do you-"

"If I'm a problem child then you should be more strict with me than with anyone else... but you aren't," Keima explained, "take Ayumi for example. Her final exams."

"Takahara-san's?" Jun barely followed. "What that got-"

"Ayumi might have academic potential, but she had forgone it long ago. She would rather focus on running and work only on her essential subjects," Keima pushed up his glasses, "yet, somehow she got grades as good as Miyako."

Jun shook her head. What they were even talking about?

"A final score is not that accurate to-"

"I'm not talking about the final score," Keima interrupted her, forcing Jun to lean back a bit, "I'm talking about her exact points on her exams."

"You don't know those! We don't show students their exact-" Jun objected, but stopped for a bit. Her memory wasn't that good, but she vaguely remembered the scores of those two girls and it was just like Katsuragi-kun said. No, before that...

"H-how do you even know about this?" she asked in shock.

"I have my methods," Keima avoided the answer, before continuing, "but that's not important. The thing is: you were able to force Ayumi to study hard. And I know how much effort you put in to convince her. I was there to see it, after all. You can be _very_ persistent and convincing when you need to, so why," he looked her right in the eye. "Why did you not do the same with me? Did you conviction waver? No, I don't think so. You're just going soft on me. Why?"

To that Jun had no answer. Obviously she wasn't going soft on him... was she? Then again, maybe that was the reason she was here. She had gone soft on him, so she felt the need to go on the offensive, even if Keima was not in high school anymore.

She went on the offensive, hoping to do... what? Now that she looked at it, Katsuragi-kun was right. This entire 'career counseling' business was a lost battle before it started and deep inside Jun already knew that... so why was her purpose here?

She tried to think about it, but her mind went blank. Thus, in the following emptiness she relied on her gut instinct instead.

"I... just wanted to help Katsuragi-kun, I guess," she said before she even noticed her mouth running.

"I don't need help!" Keima exclaimed. It felt as if they were running in circles.

"You do," Jun said softly, catching his attention.

"I've already told you-"

"It's not about your career," she interrupted him this time, making him raise his eyebrow, "it's not about games either... I guess, I want to make Katsuragi-kun... happy."

Once again, the full meaning of those words was lost on both of them, but Keima did object.

"I'm happy," he insisted.

"No, you're not," Jun denied his words automatically. It was as if there was a whole new part of her that was suddenly brought to the surface and looked at the situation from some distance. "I can somehow see it. Katsuragi-kun is not troubling others anymore... Katsuragi-kun is the one troubled instead... troubled by others..."

Even if all that was Nagase's bluff, then she had to notice his reaction – the shock and panic written all over his face.

Jun was shocked herself. She could see and feel that Katsuragi-kun was gloomy, but how come she hadn't noticed that before? What kind of shitty teacher was she? And she had thought he was actually doing pretty good back when...

She blinked as she remembered something.

"What about Kosaka-san?" she asked and there was not mistaking it – Keima inhaled sharply and a dark shadow came over his face. "Um, Katsuragi-kun?"

But Keima wasn't listening. It was his turn to remember something. He remembered the last year and half.

He had gone out with Chihiro. The start hadn't been stellar, but Keima had been determined, to make the normal girl happy and had been certain he was capable of doing so. Of course, things had been rough. Real-life dating was very different compared to games and his relationship with Chihiro had already been damaged from the start. Yet, Keima still tried. His happiness hadn't been a real concern for him. His priority had been Chihiro's happiness. He had owed her that. She had deserved this happiness. Thus, he had done his best and he had even managed to make Chihiro shine more than ever before.

And that was his undoing.

The guy was above average and rather handsome, but still he had been relatively normal. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of his was that he had been a vivid fan of 2-B pencils. Quite soon it was obvious he had fallen in love with Chihiro.

Keima at first had been suspicious and dare he say jealous, yet several weeks later the reality of the situation had dawned on him. Chihiro wouldn't cheat on him or break up with him, but it had been obvious the guy had caught her interest as well. It hadn't been a match made in heaven, but it was good.

That had been when Keima had decided. It hadn't been about his happiness. It had been about Chihiro's. So he had taken a gamble. It had been risky. It could destroy his feeble friendship with Chihiro – he didn't want for them to stop talking to each other, after all. But he was Keima Katsuragi. And he owed Chihiro Kosaka his best effort. So he had done his very best.

And he had succeeded.

Chihiro was now happy with that guy. Happier that Keima could make her. And they were still friends. It had been his greatest success.

Except he was now alone. It had hurt. It had hurt a lot – Keima had loved Chihiro after all – but he had convinced himself that he didn't deserve Chihiro. He had done too much, even if most of that had been done with good intentions. He hadn't have time to wail though. He still had other priorities.

Tenri.

The idea was simple. He had wanted to make his childhood friend happy, if she would still have him. Once again it had been a perfect idea.

But it was too late...

Tenri had already found someone and she had been planning to go study in another prefecture soon.

This time it hadn't hurt as much. But it still had hurt.

With his next priority – Ayumi – it had hurt worse. Nearly the same scenario as with Tenri had happened, to such an extent that Keima had been sure the real world was mocking him.

Of course, the next priority would be the other girls he had wronged, but all the routes were blocked. He couldn't possibly go out with Kanon now that her career had spiked again. Yui was already out of the country, seeking freedom from her mother in the United States. And as for Tsukiyo and Shiori... he just couldn't... Those two just had gotten out of their respective shells and the last thing Keima wanted to do was to destroy their friendships by going out with one of them.

It's not like he had failed. The girls had moved on and were happy. So why did it feel as if he had failed?

It's not like he was alone now. He still met with those girls from time to time and he was the "god of conquest" – it wasn't as if he had been looking-it wasn't as if he needed a girlfriend...

So why did it feel as if-

"Katsuragi-kun?"

He blinked, focusing back on when and where he was. However, it wasn't Nagase's voice alone that brought him back – it were her hands that she placed on his cheeks, an obviously worried expression on her face.

"Are you alright?" the young teacher asked.

Keima's face which was pale just now suddenly turned red and Jun could practically feel his skin heating.

"Do you have a fever?" she asked, one hand moving to feel his forehead, brushing his hair away in the process.

"I'm fine!" Keima half-shouted moving back in panic. Jun blinked twice, before she retreated her hand, the exact same thought running through their minds.

What was that just now?

Jun shook her head. It wasn't the time to think about that! She had to help Katsuragi-kun!

Especially, because Katsuragi-kun was definitely not fine. Just a moment ago he was looking really bad. His eyes were empty and it wasn't like back when she had first seen them – it wasn't as if Keima was looking at her from another world. It was more like if he wasn't there at all... His face had been kinda pale and there was this dreadful, yet sad aura around him.

In short, he was looking kinda... dead.

There was certainly something wrong with him... and she was hell-bent on finding out what it was.

"No, you're not fine!" Jun objected, a fire of determination appearing in her eyes. "What is it, Katsuragi-kun?"

"It's nothing," Keima said, but knew it was a futile effort. As much as he wanted to deny it, he wasn't as good at hiding things as he once had been. And Jun was one of the people that knew his ways, so she could read him fairly well.

"Don't play games with me! It's clear that something is bothering you!" she insisted in a very non-teacher manner.

Keima bit his lip. He could see that Nagase was serious about this – the fact that she was using arguments beside her teacher authority was a proof of this.

He should just tell her to leave. It was his house after all. He was just opening his mouth, but Nagase beat him to it.

"Is it a matter of the heart?" she asked, using the previous topic as her cue.

"W-what?" Keima was taken aback.

"Is it a girl problem?" Jun rephrased, apparently thinking Keima hadn't heard her correctly.

"O-of course, not!" Keima denied. "What would you make think that!?"

"Between your reaction to me mentioning Kosaka and your stuttering just now?" Jun asked rhetorically.

The main reason she had asked about Kosaka had been because she had vaguely remembered Chihiro and Katsuragi being close at some point. Like boyfriend and girlfriend close. Jun didn't know why that thought bothered her.

"It's none of your business!" Keima half-shouted. He didn't care that he was rude. He hoped that Nagase will be distracted by his language and tone. No such luck.

"On the contrary! You of all people should know I care for everyone, so it's obviously my business!" Jun retorted.

"And did it ever occur to you this is why people ignore you and talk behind you back!?" Keima barked back. He was essentially being an extreme asshole here – he was the one who had told Jun to stay true to her ideals, after all.

So he was kind reaping what he sow right now...

Then again... why was he resisting? Shouldn't he just let her try to help and let her see for herself? And what if she could actually help him?

No, she couldn't help him and letting her try was just a waste of both his and her time.

Yeah, that was definitely why he was resisting.

"I don't believe you, Katsuragi-kun!" Jun shook her head. " _You_ of all people should know that won't work on me. This isn't like you at all!"

Keima blinked. Nagase wasn't furious or angry with him. The only reason she was irritated was because she knew he could do better than that.

That made him wonder... how does one actually make Nagase angry? Keima had a lot of experience angering girls. Ayumi, Kusunoki, Haqua, Chihiro, Tsukiyo and Diana among others. The problem was he very rarely wanted to make girls angry. Of course, in dating sims one could use 'hate' to generate 'love' and Keima seemed to make girls angry often, but that was mostly when he wasn't meaning to.

And with Jun in particular... he had wanted to make her angry during her conquest and had failed miserably... Well, right now he kinda did make her angry, but this was only adding fuel to her flames of passion.

"You're annoying," he tried, but Jun only crossed her arms over her chest and put one leg over another, clearly indicating this level of argument didn't even require her response.

"Okay, let's say it is a girl problem," he admitted.

Jun blinked.

"Did you just... concede?" she asked, clearly surprised by the reversal of roles, "...Katsuragi-kun?" she added after a moment.

"It's not like you can help me with that stuff anyway," Keima continued, completely ignoring her question.

"And why is that?"

"You've never had a boyfriend before, have you?"

Jun gulped at that. Katsuragi was right. She had been single all of her life. It wasn't as if she was ugly... No, she had gotten enough stares to know that, but her personality was kinda off-putting. Katsuragi, on the other hand, had at least two girlfriends: Kosaka and the purple-haired one Jun had seen before.

This was the point where she should just step back, but she didn't. Apparently, she wasn't being driven by her regular optimism or stubbornness right now.

"You don't know that!" she stood up, challenging him.

Keima paused for a second. He was actually guessing, so it was possible Jun _had_ a boyfriend before. But not matter.

"I've got more than one girlfriend before," he changed his strategy, "I have muuuch more experience with romance than you do!"

"I've noticed," Jun said back, smiling, although that had more bite than she intended, "you can get a girl, but you can't keep her, right?"

Keima should stay calm, but that remark hit home, so he stood up as well, an irritated expression on his face.

"Is that how you're trying to help me? By belittling me?"

"Admit that I can help you and then I will help you," she leaned closer, hoping to force him to step back, but both of them were too stubborn and too into it to back down.

"And what will you do then if I admit it?" Keima asked. "Are you going to teach me how to pick up girls?"

"You don't need such a skill... besides, I think you're fairly proficient at that," Jun smirked and Keima's eyebrow twitched. "How about I teach you how to take better care of yourself and your appearance, like your hair?"

"My appearance is fine!" Keima replied and Jun had to admit. There was nothing wrong with how he looked.

Wait, why did she think _that_?

"B-but you clearly don't know how to take care of a girl!" Jun tried in panic, leaning even closer in an attempt to hide her shaken composure.

Keima laughed.

"Are you going to teach me how to organize a date then?" he asked. He saw Nagase's hesitation and thought he was winning, so he continued. "Will you teach me how to compliment or... kiss a girl?" he added before his brain caught up with him.

Wait, why did he say _that_?

Panic was written all over his face, but Jun didn't see that – she was fighting her own panic attack. Just right now she felt a sharp pain at the back of her head and she felt something. Like a distant memory of sorts. It filled her with warmth.

And if this wasn't enough she kinda imagined kissing Katsuragi-kun.

She brought one of her hands to her chest, where she felt a dull ache. It felt as if her ribcage was being squeezed, trying to fill the sudden sense of emptiness.

They both came to their senses and looked at each other, but could not mask the shock and other emotions running through them.

It was Jun's turn to retort and she covered her panic by putting on a front.

"Me? Teaching you how to kiss?" she questioned, making sure to make her voice sound arrogant. "Is kissing your teacher a dream of yours, Katsuragi- _san_? Is this why you were paying me so much attention when I was a trainee? Is this your strategy? Playing hard to get?" she mocked.

"You're not my teacher!" Keima barked back, his face becoming red from anger and... more anger. "Besides who'd want to kiss such a diehard overzealous real woman like you!?"

"Right back at you," Jun shouted. "What girl would want to kiss such a creepy weirdo nerd like you!"

"You'd be surprised," Keima retorted before he could bite his tongue.

"Are you talking about the girls from your games?"

"And what if I am?" Keima challenged. "I have my own ideal world and I don't need anyone from the real world!"

"It sounds to me as if you're lying," Jun called his bluff.

"And it sounds to me as if you're jealous," Keima upped the ante.

Jun said nothing to that, but she narrowed her eyes, pursed her lips and glared at Keima and he glared right back.

At this point neither of them could think calmly. Neither of them would be able to tell how did it come to this and how did they end up trading insults in such a rude way. Even weirder, while they were angry, it wasn't really a big all-consuming wrath. It felt more like common irritation, mixed with respect of all things. There were both frustrated and despite their conversation it only continued to build up, as if it required a different outlet than a heated argument.

Yet, to be able to rile each other like so, to be able to turn something trivial into such a discussion. Where did all of this energy and determination came from to result in such face-to-face showdown? They were close to each other now, leaning over the living room table, separated by nothing but several inches of air.

To an untrained eye it would seem that they were just glaring at each other, but the tension in the air was palpable. It was like two thunderclouds looming over with so much voltage built up that even as good an insulator as air might not be able to prevent the sparks that could set of a mighty thunderbolt.

However, that threshold was still ahead of them, so no sparks flew yet, resulting in a stalemate.

They were both stubborn, so, even in a ridiculous situation like this they refused to step back.

However, out of arguments, they couldn't move forward either.

They were both sworn believers of ideals. Different ideals. Similar, yet different at the core. No matter how one looked at it, their ideals couldn't mesh. Because of that the air between them could just as well be a brick wall. There was no way for the two of them to get any closer that that.

No simple way at least.

It was like nuclear fusion. For it to occur two atoms have to get close enough to each other in order to fuse into a bigger atom. Alas, due to the Coulomb's law the atoms were repulsed from each other. Under normal circumstances they could not ever touch.

There was a way, however.

Speed. Momentum. Energy.

If the atoms acquired enough energy they could overcome the repulsion force and collide. That momentum was a double-edged sword, however. A collision at such high energy levels wouldn't be gentle. No, the collision would be loud and rough. It would be an explosion, it would be a crash with such power that the only thing it could result in was damage and destruction.

Yet, when the collision between Keima Katsuragi and Jun Nagase, two opposing, unstoppable and immovable forces happened, there was no destruction.

Because, despite all the energy, all the anger and all the differences in opinion, when their lips met, they didn't repel each other, but melted instead. They merged together, perfectly fitting against each other in what was the gentlest clash in history.

And it was far from damaging.

In fact, a nuclear fusion is all about creation, as smaller atoms disappear and something new – a greater central atom – is created and a tremendous amount of energy is released. And something similar happened here – gone was the invisible wall between the two people. Gone were two clashing ideals on a collision course. Or rather they were still there, but they were different now. They were connected, forming a bond. A relationship. Two opposing forces clashed and something new and far greater – a marvelous feeling – was born in that moment.

Keima and Jun continued to kiss for several seconds, overwhelmed by the amount of energy that was released by their clash. They had no idea what spark started this, where all this passion, all this energy came from. It's not like like they had been unconsciously frustrated and building this energy for each other for months now, right?

Finally, they separated and looked at each other, but, surprisingly they didn't see anything new – despite the obvious differences of age and gender, their faces were looking oddly similar. The same hair color. The same brown eyes. The same expression. The same passionate fire in their eyes.

Or maybe it was their own fire they were seeing inside the eye of the other person?

How was this possible? How did this happen? What did that mean?

The only way they could answer those questions was through learning. Through gathering of information and experiences. Through teamwork. And so they let their lips clash again, this time more roughly and proceed to teach each other what this new thing was all about. Soon, hands joined the lips in curious exploration as Jun and Keima were drawn closer to each other, testing how much similar and complementary their differences were. Never before was teaching such a pleasant and fulfilling experience.

However the environment was far from optimal.

"Blasted table!" they both said in unison when it became obvious they couldn't get close and comfortable without climbing on the stupid piece of furniture or breaking it into pieces.

"My," Keima started, but stopped to clear his suddenly hoarse throat, "my family could be back any minute," he said.

Jun nodded in confirmation, not able to trust her own voice at the moment.

"So... we might want to... umm... do the counseling elsewhere," he finished and his mind did a double take. What did I just say?

"Um, lead the way please," Jun said quietly, before her own brain forced her to do a reality check. I told Katsuragi-kun to do what now?

Somehow neither of them could bring themselves to object and somehow Keima led Jun to the only place that could offer them privacy.

 **(* * *)**

 **Okay, that was the first chapter. The second one (around half as long as this one) is already prepared and will be probably posted in a day or two.**

 **So...? What do you think? Was it good, believable and enjoyable to read or not so far? Let me know in your reviews!**

 **As for my comments... as I said it was rather difficult to put Jun and Keima together like this, especially in a setting when Jun is not aware of the stuff Keima had done. Thus I needed a lot of words to steer the situation into where I wanted it, since I had the kissing scene prepared already. Connecting those two parts was a really exacting.**

 **Furthermore, staying true to the manga meant I had to do something about Chihiro and the solution I chose made part of this chapter much sadder than I originally planned. This is a view on Keima I don't describe often (at least not to that extent), but it was kind of refreshing and certainly added to Keima's character development. Not that Jun didn't have hers too.**

 **The final result isn't as perfect or concise as I originally planned, but still I'm satisfied with how it came out.**

 **I think that's all for now, so stay tuned for the second chapter.**

 **See you later!**


	2. The aftermath

**Hello, everyone!**

 **As promised, here's the second chapter of this two-shot.**

 **Not much to say here, except that I want to thank you for your reviews, favs and follows of the first chapter.**

 **Also there's two kinda obvious things I forgot to say the last time. Thus, it's a little late, but:  
**

 **1\. This story has some spoilers for The World God Only Knows (more for the manga than the anime).**

 **2\. I don't own The World God Only Knows.**

 **Now, let's go onto the chapter!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **(* * *)**

So this is Katsuragi-kun's room, Jun thought when she realized where she was.

It was looking different from what she had expected. Her imagination concocted a dark and nasty place, pretty much removed from reality. But there were no katanas or knives or posters of yakuza with guns on the walls. The desk was not littered with cram book or school notes or anything that would explain Keima's academic ability. She couldn't see a set used for magic tricks or some showcase with magic artifacts either. It didn't look like a room of yakuza, magician or a genius. In fact, the room looked surprisingly normal and inviting for the most part. It was bright, tidy and clean. It was the room of a gamer though – on the other side there was a single chair placed in front of an impressive gaming equipment.

This was surprising as well. Didn't gamers normally just waste their lives away with their old computers hidden under the desk? Sure, maybe most of them got a gaming console attached to a TV or both a console and a computer, but this? This looked more like a working place of a security guard observing all museum exhibits on multiple screens at once... or a interior of some alien spacecraft.

"Huh?" she stopped for a moment in front of a cabinet holding Keima's games as well a small pile of games nearby, "I thought there'd be more..."

She didn't know why she said that.

"Ah, those are just the ones I need at the moment," Keima explained, his voice laced with nervousness or embarrassment, "the rest is in the room opposite of this. Shelves and shelves chock-full of gal games."

He didn't know why he told her that.

"I see," Jun whispered. She understood. Those screens. This equipment. All of those games.

This room was not a room of a mere gamer. It was an environment where Keima could give in to his passion and love. It was similar to a small shrine in Jun's apartment she had devoted to wrestling. This room was for Keima what a wrestling arena was for Jun.

It was room devoted to an ideal.

"Gal games," she repeated. Now that she thought about it, she had seen other problem kids playing games, but they've played completely different games and next to none galges.

"Here," Keima gave her a chair and they both sat down. Keima looked more or less collected, but Jun didn't have as much luck – now that her brain was forced to think about what just happened, her face immediately grew hot in a familiar way.

"Did you just..." she started after a moment, surprise and panic clear despite the quiet and slow voice, but was immediately interrupted by Keima.

"Yes," the gamer replied, obviously knowing what she meant, but just as equally shocked.

"Did I..." Jun continued just above a whisper.

"Yes..."

"Did we..."

"Yeah..."

"Oh god..." Jun hid her head in her hands.

What had she done? She had kissed her own student! Well, he was no longer her student, but still!

Why the hell did she do that!? How did it happen!? They were arguing at that time for god's sake! How did that result in them kissing!?

It was a mistake! A spur-of-the-moment thing! Now that her head was clear she didn't want to do it again, right?

Oh, god... she kinda... wanted to do it again...

She hazarded a furtive glance at Katsuragi-kun. The look on the boy's face was unreadable. What was he feeling? Was he shocked? Disgusted? Abashed? Embarrassed?

Happy?

What was she feeling herself? It was so elusive, indefinable... and yet it felt kind of nice... familiar too...

Like something that was always there, just outside of her consciousness. Her brain was screaming at her how impossible, illogical and _wrong_ it was, but her heart whispered that this was what she wanted. She had wanted it for a long time and it was so strong that the argument they had just a moment ago hadn't been able to stop or prevent it... in fact it only served as a catalyst for it to happen.

Jun shook her head, she had to slow down her thinking or else her brain will spontaneously combust on the spot! She looked around for something to distract herself with and noticed two cups on Katsuragi-kun's desk. Was that the coffee Ke-Katsuragi-kun had made? Did he carry it here? How come she didn't notice him do that? Just what was happening with her brain today?

She reached for her cup (praying that it was indeed her cup and Ke-Katsuragi-kun hadn't been drinking from it) and smelled the contents. Weird. It was supposed to be coffee and kinda looked like it, but certainly didn't smell like any coffee she had ever drunk.

The truth was Jun Nagase wasn't really fond of coffee. It didn't taste good and when she needed refreshment, she'd rather drink a sports drink or a simple juice. And when she needed to stay awake she'd drink an energy drink. It would be rude not to drink this now, however, especially since this house served as a café and Kei-Katsuragi-kun had personally made the coffee for her.

So Jun took a sip and the next thing she knew she was staring at the empty cup in pure shock.

"What the hell is this?" she exclaimed loudly. Keima paled a little bit.

"You don't like coffee?" he asked, sounding... disappointed?

"Um... I kinda don't," Jun told him.

"Sorry," Keima said, "if I had known-"

"Are you kidding me?" she interrupted, showing him her empty cup. "This is delicious!" wait, could coffee even be called delicious? Apparently Keima's could. "I've never had such good coffee in my life!"

"Is that so?" Keima tried to act nonchalant, but there was unmistakable hint of pink on his face. "I'm glad you like it... uh... sensei."

Jun was ready to ask for another cup of the black nectar, but Keima's last word brought both of them back to the matter at hand. This was not the time to talk about coffee!

All right, Jun thought as she took a breath, Kei-I mean Katsuragi-kun might be a man and he's pretty calm and mature for his age, but I'm the older one and the only adult here! Also I'm a teacher. If it's anyone's responsibility to act mature here then it's mine!

With that thought in mind, she turned in her seat. The boy noticed her motion and looked up. Jun could see something she had never seen in his eyes before.

A hint of fear.

That didn't sit well with her. Of course, she didn't want to intimidate anyone, but the thought of Katsuragi-kun being afraid of her suddenly seemed much, much worse.

Okay, you can do this Jun, she thought to herself, you just need to use gentle words and calm Katsuragi-kun down.

"You can call me 'Jun' if you want," she said with a happy smile, "besides, I'm not your teacher anymore."

For the next several seconds it was quiet. Jun still continued to smile with her eyes closed. The only sound was the ticking of some clock. But compared to the silence outside...

That wasn't what I wanted to say! Jun screamed inside her mind.

She was brought back to reality by a new sound. The loud and clear sound of Keima Katsuragi's merry laughter.

Jun immediately blushed.

"I see," Keima said. He was now smiling as well and Jun's blush intensified instantly. She had never seen him smile like that before.

"Then I guess you can call me 'Keima' too," the boy said, "besides, I'm not your student anymore."

"Um... okay then... um... Keima-kun," Jun started again, but could not prevent herself from blushing when she said his name. She was 24 for god's sake, not some nervous middle schooler with a crush! "Is it okay if we discuss... the thing that just happened?"

"Discuss?" Keima repeated curiously, before he chuckled. "Sure, I'm listening... Jun."

The way he had said her name and the way it made her feel she'd have to revise the thing about her not being a middle schooler with a crush. No, she needed stay professional!

With that, she stood up and bowed.

"I'm very sorry!" she said with closed eyes. "I shouldn't have done that! I shouldn't have-"

"Shouldn't have what?" Keima interrupted her, making her look up. "It's true that it was partially my fault as well. And it's true that it might've been a mistake. So I'm sorry if what happened will end up being a mistake. However, can you really say that you shouldn't have done that? Do you really regret it?" he asked.

"That's-"

"I don't," Keima interrupted her yet again. "Because... I think I like you."

In the following silence both of their cheeks turned deep red and Jun plopped down on her chair again.

He's trying to sweet talk you or scare you away to prevent you from interfering with his gaming! her brain screamed, but Jun didn't believe that. Besides, let's be honest – if he was trying to sweet talk her then it was working.

"You... like... me?" she reiterated, her words quiet as if she was suddenly out of breath. Maybe she was – any confession she had ever gotten were from people who didn't know her personality and were only after her looks. No man had ever said that he liked her after knowing her for so long.

"Yeah, I do... as crazy as it is," Keima admitted.

"Crazy, huh?" Jun repeated, "I'm a diehard overzealous real woman, so it's no wonder you say that."

"I'm sorry," Keima said, his hands grasping his knees and clenching.

"Huh? For what?"

"For calling you that," he said. "Actually, I don't think you're a diehard or overzealous... you just believe in your opinion and are not swayed by what the masses say and you're not as lazy and easily giving up as them... you're an idealist."

"You say as if that is a good thing," Jun somehow replied through her blush.

"Of course it is," Keima smiled, "ideals are what we should all head towards, instead of letting this messed-up world get worse and worse. You think ideals are obsolete? No. In this world ideals are more necessary than ever now... that's why I admired in you."

Jun was shocked. She had realized before that despite their differences her and Keima-kun's beliefs were actually similar, but she hadn't known just how much similar. But now she understood. They both were unsatisfied with the world. While Jun had tried to correct the world, Keima-kun tried to search for another world. Their 'means' were different, but their 'ends' were essentially the same.

In short, Keima-kun was the first person she had met who saw the same big picture as her. Who understood her. Who she could relate to.

"You like me for my ideals?" she asked. "Even if they're the reason I tried to separate you from your games?"

Keima nodded.

It was a weird coincidence, he thought. Chihiro was the girl who insulted him, butted heads with him, was the contradiction of the heroine archetype and couldn't leave him alone. He disliked her, yet he had suddenly realized he liked her and one of the reason it started was her being different from his other heroines and her refusal to conform to the routes and patterns he had known.

With Jun it was somewhat similar – she butted heads with him as well, refused to let him be and he seemed to dislike her. Yet how he felt about her at the moment was definitely not dislike.

He laughed.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"The guys from my class," Keima said, "they were a no-good bug-ridden bunch. I've never thought I'd agree with anything they say... but now that I think about it... I can agree about one thing."

"Umm and what is that thing?" Jun uttered, voice nervous.

"You're really... beautiful," he said smiling, "I'm glad I've met you... and I'm glad you came over today..."

Jun blinked. Keima-kun thought she was beautiful? Well, she knew the boys at school thought she was attractive (though they tended to describe her with words other than 'beautiful') and she was used to that, as embarrassing as it was.

So why did it feel as if steam were to rise from her head any moment now?

"I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't mean what I said about you being a creepy weirdo nerd..."

"It's okay," Keima laughed, "things like that don't bother me really."

"...and I think I like you too, Keima-kun!" she half-shouted, before shame made her shut up.

"Yeah, I figured," Keima's voice was confident, but his face was just as red as Jun's.

It was quiet for a longer moment.

"So... what happens now?" the young woman asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Keima asked. "Look, we both can see what is going on here, right? I like you and you like me, so we obviously go out."

"But I'm your teacher!" Jun told him.

"No, you're not," Keima reminded her.

"I'm your former teacher!"

"So what?"

"I'm much older than you!"

"Does it bother you?" Keima asked with a smile. "Because I don't think that's much of a problem."

To his surprise Jun suddenly leaned forward and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Don't encourage me!" she ordered shaking him. "You gotta work with me here! You have to reject me or else-"

"Or else what?" he grabbed her hands, covering her palms with his own. "You're afraid your own hot-headenness will make you do something stupid?"

"Think about it from my perspective!" she told him. "I have to be responsible here!"

"Then how about taking responsibility then?" he half-joked.

The truth was this situation was ridiculous and certainly not something he had expected. But Jun's argument were but a small obstacles and he wouldn't let those get in the way.

After all that happened... the goddesses, time travel, Chihiro, Ayumi, Tenri... he refused to let the real world defeat him. He refused to reach a bad end. He refused to let this opportunity pass up.

He couldn't do this alone, but the two of them...

"I can't" Jun cried out. "I'm an annoying stupid stubborn woman! I'll only end up hurting you."

"No," Keima said with a smile. "You were right. I need help. I'm alone. And broken. If anyone can heal me... if anyone has enough determination and will to mend me then it's you."

Jun didn't respond immediately, she looked down, hiding her face from him. Keima became worried and was about to say something when Jun mumbled something he couldn't hear.

"What was that?" he leaned closer to hear better.

"You're an idiot!" Jun said louder and looked up at him, tears flowing down her face. "But I guess I'm an idiot too."

With that she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him with all the passion she could muster, shocking Keima, but he happily kissed back.

So we finally agree on something, he thought. He smiled into the kiss when he realized how ironic this was.

Keima had filled the gap in Jun's heart with a kiss almost two year ago, letting her keep her passion... and now it seemed that the same passion was used to fill the gap in his heart and via kissing no less.

"Are you... really fine... with this?" she asked out of breath when they separated.

"Yes," Keima replied with his normal fearless attitude and she shivered. Was this guy even human? "Are you?"

"Yeah..." she said. "If anyone asks, I'll say the truth."

"Which is?" Keima questioned

"You seduced me."

"You don't know how true that is," he smiled before he kissed her.

This time there was no table between them, so they clung to each other as their lips moved against each other. And for once the real decided to conform the ideal in games instead of starting some interruption-

"Keima, we're back! Come and help your sister to prep-" Mari Katsuragi said as she opened the door... and then stopped in midword when she took in the scene before her.

Keima and Jun were embracing each other, both out of breath and looking like a pair of deers caught in the headlights. Keima's hair was in even more disarray than usual. Moreover, their position changed during the kiss and Jun had somehow ended up sitting on Keima's desk.

"Umm... good day, Katsuragi-san," Jun said, but Mari didn't respond.

"What's wrong okaa-sama?" another voice said and soon enough Eri Katsuragi's head poked into the room.

"Nii-sama?" the girl asked in surprise. "Nagase-sensei? What are you-" she didn't say more, because Mari pushed her to the side and then bowed.

"Forgive me for interrupting. Please carry on," the red-haired woman said. Then she closed the door and walked away before the two lovers could react, identical comical expressions on their faces.

(* * *)

"So that's how it is," Jun said in a flustered manner as she summarized the current situation.

Her, Keima and Mari were sitting by the living room table, while Eri was in the kitchen, out of the hearing range... at least in theory, 'cause the living room and kitchen were connected with no doors and even from where he was sitting Keima could see his sister trembling and it wasn't from fear, if the amused smirk he saw every time she turned around was any indication.

"A teacher, huh?" Mari said, her gaze traveling from Jun to her son.

"Former teacher," Keima replied immediately. Why everyone forgets that crucial bit of information?

"Former or not, I have to admit this is veeery far from what I've expected from my son," Mari sighed.

Jun gulped. Apparently, Keima-kun's mother was not happy about this and Jun could hardly blame her – she was several years older than Keima-kun and from Mari's perspective it probably had looked as if Jun had been trying to seduce her son!

For those reasons Jun considered actually withdrawing, but in her heart she knew she didn't want to and she felt that Keima-kun wouldn't want either. Besides, "life is a challenge" as Jumbo Tsuruma once said and Jun, being optimistic and energetic person refused to give up and decided to do her best.

Jun stood up and bowed at the exact same time as Mari did.

"I promise I will take good care of Keima-kun! Please give us your approval!" Jun requested.

"Please, date my son!" Mari said, her voice much more desperate.

Both women looked at each other and blinked, while Keima glared at Eri, who was openly clutching her sides, one step from dropping to the floor and rolling form laughter.

"Umm... so, you approve, Katsuragi-san?" Jun asked.

"Completely! Please go steady with Keima!" the orange-haired woman said with a smile as she grabbed the other woman's hands, "And you can call me Mari."

"Umm... sure, Mari-san!" Jun smiled, though barely comprehending.

Mari smiled back and then excused herself for a moment. Keima used this moment to whisper to Jun.

"If you don't want to spend the next several hours with my mother interrogating and embarrassing us, I'd recommend you find an excuse to leave now."

Jun gulped.

"Aah... Mari-san?" she started.

"Yes?" Mrs. Katsuragi said, already carrying more snacks.

"I'd love to talk more, but I really have to be going," Jun said with a nervous smile. "I was supposed to be here only for an hour and I have to prepare for tomorrow classes."

"Aah..." Mari was clearly disappointed, but turned to her son. "In that case, Keima, walk your girlfriend home."

"There's no need," Jun objected, "besides I got here by bike..."

"Keima _will_ walk you home," Mari repeated with a serious face and Jun sweatdropped.

"It's fine," Keima said, standing up, "let's go."

(* * *)

"You don't really have to walk me home," Jun said.

They were currently walking by foot with Jun wheeling her bike along the sidewalk.

"If I don't go at least half the way to your place, mom will be pissed," Keima responded simply as he finished adding Jun's number and e-mail address to his phone.

Jun was a little embarrassed, feeling like a defenseless teenager. Then again, she might be older, but Keima-kun was certainly taller, she thought as she glanced at her _boyfriend_ walking next to her. Perhaps it was because Keima-kun was often sitting, but she had never noticed how tall he actually was, nearly half a foot taller than her. This, coupled with the fearless look in his eyes and his good-looking face actually made him quite a catch and that made Jun smile... except...

"Hey!" Keima exclaimed as soon as Jun snatched the PFP he just got out from his hands.

"I'm confiscating this!" Jun said. "I'll give it back after you walk me home... well, half-home."

"You're still trying to make me stop playing games?" he asked, but made no move to retrieve his console.

"No, I gave up," Jun admitted, "But I won't accept any games outside on or dates. If you want to play, play at home!"

"Troublesome," Keima remarked, knowing full-well this will dig into his gaming time a lot.

"Well, I'm a troublesome woman," Jun told him, "that's one thing everyone who has met me knows about."

"It's fine," Keima assured her, "I've come to learn that real women are like that, so I accept this. Besides, I'm plenty troublesome myself."

"That reminds me... you said things about other women a lot," Jun mused, her voice tinted with jealousy, "I wonder what's that about..."

Keima sighed, knowing that at one point he'd have to tell Jun some if not all of his secrets and he wasn't exactly looking forward to that.

"It's a long story. I don't think you live far enough for me to tell it now. Besides," he added when he saw Jun's suspicious gaze, "it'd be best for Nikaidō to be there when I tell this story."

"It's Nikaidō-sensei to you," Jun reminded, "and why do we need senpai to have that kind of conversation? Also, I don't think we should tell too many people about... us. Not this soon anyway."

"I agree, but Nikaidō is an exception," Keima said before his lips morphed into a really amused smile, "actually... I'm looking forward to telling Nikaidō about us."

"I don't get it!" Jun half-shouted, her voice now openly jealous. "Just what is the relationship between you and Nikaidō-senpai!?"

"All I can tell you for now is that she is my... former student," Keima replied mysteriously.

Jun opened her mouth in surprise and Keima used that moment of distraction to get back his PFP.

"Hey!" Jun objected, by her complaint was forgotten when Keima kissed her under some tree, mirroring their first kiss almost two years ago.

Holy shit! Just where did Keima-kun learn to kiss like that?

"I think this is far enough," Keima said as they separated, "I'll call you tomorrow. Goodnight, Jun," he added and observed as his _girlfriend_ 's face turned even redder.

"Umm, goodnight, Keima," Jun responded out of reflex.

Keima nodded and turned around. He walked no more then twenty steps when he heard his name being called.

"Keima-kun!"

He turned around and saw Jun on her bike, waving at him energetically and smiling the best smile he had ever seen on her.

"From now on, let's do our best together!" she shouted and threw her fist high into the air and letting out a long "Ooooh!" before driving away.

Keima chuckled and continued walking towards Café Grandpa.

On one hand, he didn't look forward to the teasing from his sister and sure-to-come nagging from his mother.

On the other hand, he _certainly_ was looking forward to the look on Nikaidō's face when she'll learn that Jun is his girlfriend.

Maybe there was hope for the real world, after all, he thought as he continued walking, feeling better than he had felt in a long time.

 **(* * *)**

 **So, here you have it – Jun and Keima talk it out (which obviously involves use of lips :P), Mari walks in and later approves, while Eri seems to have a lot of fun with the situation. :)  
**

 **And can anyone picture Jun and Keima in a family restaurant, telling Nikaidō the good news? I certainly can. xD  
**

 **Anyway, with only 12 000 words I couldn't reference everything that I'd like to, but I think it works fairly well and I managed to make this small romance believable enough.**

 **Do you agree? Tell me in your reviews! :)**

 **I was also uncertain about the title of this chapter, as "aftermath" is usually used in negative context... on the other hand, it worked with the collision/clash meaning and hid the final outcome, so I went along with it.**

 **I'd also like to say something about the future of my stories here. I plan to do more one-shot-like stories, but that'll have to wait for a bit, 'cause the continuation of The World Kanon Only Knows has the priority at the moment... however, I believe that the next three "one-shots" will be about more popular characters, so look forward to them! :)**

 **I think that's everything I wanted to say here. I hope you enjoyed the story! :)  
**


	3. Him, her and her

**Hello, everyone! I'm back!**

 **...though probably not where you expected me to be.**

 **Since Clash of Ideals was met with such a good response, I decided to post a third chapter, describing Jun telling the happy news to Nikaidō. A few things to point out:**

 **First, this chapters contains VERY heavy manga spoilers, so you read it on your own responsibility.**

 **Second, this is more like an epilogue, except it does not happen far away in the future. And what I mean to say here is that there's not really action here. Nothing really new happens. Just some (4000 word) summary and me using opportunities to poke fun at the relationships in the Keima–Jun** ** **–** Nikaidō "triangle". Because of this this chapter might be considering boring (though I tried to make it a little bit funny), so I apologize in advance for that.**

 **Third, sorry you had to wait so long for this. It wasn't originally planned.**

 **Also, I want to thank all of my readers for reading, reviewing, following and favoriting this 3-chapter one-shot (lol).**

 **Anyway, onto the chapter!**

 **(* * *)**

The entrance bell jingled when Yuri Nikaidō walked through the door. It was a particularly hot day near the end of May. It didn't help that the family restaurant Yuri just entered had faulty air conditioning or no air conditioning at all and the blazing heat threatened to invade the place from the outside. It wasn't exactly unexpected though. The restaurant in question was one of the very few placed some distance away from the downtown. It didn't have many customers, but also didn't have much competition. Hence, the owners had little motivation to change the look and quality of the place. Despite all this, Yuri still wondered why her junior had wanted to meet in such a place. Yuri had barely noticed very few customers present here when she saw a hand waving at her from the very end of the hall.

"Senpai!"

The person who was calling Yuri in unsure voice and waving at her was Yuri's junior from when they were both students at Narusawa University of Education and now when they were both teachers at Maijima Private High School. Yuri let a small sigh escape her lips and then walked to the last booth and sat down in front of her junior and smiled.

"Hello, Jun," Yuri greeted.

"Hello, senpai."

Yuri took a moment to observe her junior. Right now Jun Nagase was a beginning teacher, but Yuri had mostly remembered her as a fresh university student, not even 20 years olds. Compared to Yuri, who was _considerably_ older, the younger girl was... well, a girl. Thus, while other people, and students, may see Jun as an adult woman in professional teacher attire, Yuri saw Jun more like a teenager. That feeling was only emphasized by the clothes the other girl was wearing. It was a sundress of some sort and Yuri has _never_ seen Jun Nagase in a sundress. Or any dress for that matter. Basketball attire? Yes. Jogging suit? Yes. Pants? Yes. Skirt? Yes. But never a dress. It really made Jun look like a girl instead of a teacher and could be easily confused for a girl several years younger. There was something else strange about her face and skin too. Like it looked more alive and bright. Normally Yuri would attribute it to Jun's boundless optimism, if it weren't for her facial expression. Jun seemed rather nervous at the moment.

"So," Yuri started, suspecting her junior had some trouble and wanted advice. "what's going on?"

"Huh?" Jun suddenly looked like a deer caught in headlights. "W-what do you mean?"

Yuri sighed again. Her and Jun were never _really_ close, even during university days as they were in different years, but still, the brown-haired woman was one of the people closest to Yuri. Of course, Yuri had other people important to her. Keima. Eri. Tenri. Shōtarō. Haqua. Rimyuel.

However, all of them were directly related to the entire New Hell business, but Jun was different. Yes, she was still related as she had a Loose Soul inside her once, but aside from that Jun was a normal human and Yuri was glad for that. It reminded her that she herself was a human now as well and that now that her task with New Hell was over she could and should live her life as a regular human with people like Jun.

Before Yuri could respond to Jun's question, a waitress appeared.

"Can I take your orders?"

Jun quickly made her order, in her panic ordering much more than she could eat. Yuri shook her head and then made an order for herself.

"You know what I mean," Yuri said when the waitress left, "if you just wanted to invite me for a friendly after-work chat and gossip then we could do it at school or between breaks," she paused, "which means this is about something else, right?"

Yuri smiled when Jun become even more nervous, flustered and... blushing? Why would she... Oh god, don't tell her Jun needed advice about guys! Yuri heard the entrance bell jingle again, but she didn't pay any attention to it. Strangely enough, it seemed to give Jun courage because she spoke.

"You see, senpai, it's not school-related... at least not completely," the wrestling fanatic said, "you see... there's kinda this guy I like..."

Yuri sighed again. "Look, Jun," she started, "I'm honored you decided to ask me for help, I'm really am, but," Yuri paused. Admitting that she hasn't had any meaningful experiences with men, besides her 'onii-chan', wasn't easy for her, "but I don't think I'll be much help in this regard."

"Ooh," Jun said and then looked past Yuri, "that's not a problem... because you see, the guy likes me back and we're going out at the moment."

Yuri blinked, but couldn't react because she heard footsteps behind her which then stopped soon after. Jun looked up at the newcomer and Yuri followed suit. And then she froze.

"Oni-K-Katsuragi?"

Indeed, Keima Katsuragi and her 'onii-chan' was standing over them.

"Good day, sensei," he said.

What was he doing here, Yuri thought. And now of all times? She was about to question the boy further when he suddenly moved... only to sit down next to Jun.

Yuri blinked, certain she got something wrong, but then Keima moved his hand and clasped Jun's, their fingers interlacing together.

"Um... you see senpai... the thing is me and Keima-kun," Jun started.

"Are dating," Keima finished, a weird small smirk on his lips.

Yuri had been through a lot in her life. From the peaceful times of Old Hell to the horrors of Almagemachina war. From having to live in artificial body to her life as a human. She had dealt with enemy devils, cute superweapon janitors, Runaway Spirit Squad members, Vintage agents, clumsy honor students, pesky delinquents, dozens of high school students and even insane blood-thirsty lunatics armed with cardboard box cutters. And, of course, she had to deal with both Jun and Keima – it was true that they both could be a handful.

However, the thing she was seeing now seemed beyond all that.

Maybe it was because the last year and half made Yuri calm down and get used to a peaceful life of a regular human. Or maybe she was just unused to issues pertaining to romance as she was warrior, leader and teacher who had abandoned her child-like innocence and romanticism ages ago. No matter the reason, her brain seemed to shut down as she looked at the couple in front of her. She glanced from their joined hands to Jun's beet-red face and to Keima's impudent smirk.

Still... does not compute!

Yuri looked once more at Jun's flustered face and clung onto the last option that made sense here.

"It better be some kind of joke," Yuri glanced at Keima, an angry expression on her face. "Because if you've forced her into some scheme of yours..."

"It's not a joke... and while it may be true that there was slight seduction involved," Keima admitted, "I assure you there was no forcing anyone into anything."

"And you want me to believe that!?" Yuri exclaimed. "With the things I know you're capable of? You're manipulative, self-centered, insensitive-"

"Please do not talk about Keima-kun like that, senpai!" Jun exclaimed, her turn to look angry.

Yuri blinked. "Like what?"

"Like he's some scoundrel!" Jun responded. Yuri looked at Keima who made a gesture that seemed to say 'I didn't cast a spell on her or anything'.

"Keima-kun is a passionate and considerate man!" Jun continued.

"Passionate? I'll give you that," Yuri said, "but it's first time I've heard of him being considerate."

"Yeah, because I didn't save and feed young girls and teach them to use the toilet," Keima said, to which Yuri visibly blushed.

"You had an agenda back then!"

Keima shrugged. "You could say, I have an agenda now too," he used one of his hands to embrace Jun by her waist and pulled her closer. "I'm in love."

"Not that I wish you bad things, but I've heard that before," Yuri said before turning to Jun again, "I'd think it over if I were you."

"I already have," Jun replied, "I'm happy with this."

"Let's see if you'd be able to say that after two weeks of being together," Yuri said.

"Two weeks of being together was two weeks ago, senpai," Jun said, "and I'm still here."

"You mean you've been together for a month and I knew nothing about it?! And what the hell is so funny!?" the last part was directed at Keima who was still smiling.

"Oh, nothing's funny," Keima said, his smirk increasing, "it just feels nice to get revenge."

Yuri groaned. She got that one coming, didn't she?

"Revenge? For what?" Jun asked confused, looking between the two of them. "And why are you two talking and bickering like an old mar-" she stopped mid-word and then grabbed Keima's arm and pulled him closer as if expecting her senpai to snatch her boyfriend away from her.

Yuri sighed. "Did you bring me here only to gloat?" she asked Keima. "Or do you want my blessing or something?"

"Well, I decided you should be present for the next part," Keima said.

"What next part?"

"I think we should tell Jun the entire story," Keima said.

"What?!" Yuri exclaimed. "Over my dead body!"

"You're kinda dead already," Keima noticed.

"Remember who you're talking to, onii-chan!" Yuri hissed.

"Back at you, Dokurō," Keima said back, not batting an eyelash.

"Dead? Skull? Onii-chan?" Jun repeated, looking between Keima and Yuri, her expression between angry and panicked. "Just what on earth happened between you two!?"

Keima and Yuri looked at her before looking at each other.

"Jun is my girlfriend and your junior," Keima said, "she deserves to know."

Yuri sighed for the umpteenth time today.

"Fine, fine. But not here," she said, when she saw that their waitress arrived with the food. At least now she knew why Jun ordered food for two. "Just let me eat first, alright?"

(* * *)

Buridan's ass is a paradox in philosophy, portraying an equally thirsty and hungry donkey who is placed midway between a stack of hay and pail of water and dies, unable to rationally choose what to do first. And Jun Nagase suddenly felt like she was a donkey from that paradox.

Her, Keima and Nikaidō were in the Misaki Seaside Park, sitting on one of the benches in front of Akanemaru. Keima had just given Jun a very short and very basic summary of what he was calling "the story", with Nikaidō throwing in her own two cents whenever she thought Keima was not being accurate or correct.

After that Jun's modus operandi was reduced to blinking for a good several seconds. She then looked at Keima and Nikaidō in turns, looking for any signs of help or them saying "we got ya!", suggesting it was all some elaborate joke. But no, Keima was silent, serious and unmoving, only his face become a little bit redder as Jun's silence went on. Nikaidō on the other hand was torn between smirking and face-palming.

Jun stayed like that for a few more moments, unable to decide who to question first: her university and teaching senpai or her boyfriend. Finally, her emotions took over and she turned to Keima.

"What do you mean you exorcised devils from girls by _kissing them_!?"

"She made me do it!" Keima pointed at Nikaidō, who was looking away innocently. "She and my sister! Actually, my sister was also her doing! You wouldn't believe what they actually are. Were. Whatever."

"Excuse me," Nikaidō said back, "I'm a human now and it was you who did next to everything."

"You sent me the e-mail that started everything," Keima rebutted.

"You told me to sent that e-mail!"

"You put an explosive collar around my neck!"

"Would you do it otherwi-"

"You did what now, senpai?" Jun turned to Nikaidō with the scariest eyes-closed smile Keima had ever seen. "Care to elaborate on that?"

Nikaidō, the survivor and hero of Almagemachina war sweatdropped and Keima took pleasure in watching the scene.

"Fufufu, how does it feel to be questioned about stuff you shouldn't speak about by people close to you?" Keima asked.

His delight was short-lived when Jun turned back to him.

"Don't you start that, mister!" Jun said, her face determined and angry. "How many?"

Keima played dumb. "How many of what?"

"How many girls have you kissed!?"

"I have exorcised 16 girls through kissing, including you," Keima said.

That last bit confused Jun. "Wait, _I_ was _possessed_ by a demon?"

"By devil from Old Hell, called a Loose Soul ," Keima corrected.

"And you kissed 15 other girls!?"

"Ooh... don't be so modest, onii-chan," Nikaidō added with a sly smile, "don't limit yourself to just exorcising. Add girls you kissed _after_ exorcising the Loose Soul and the girls that _didn't have_ a Loose Soul at all. You know. Tenri, the other Kasuga, Rimyuel and that Yūzaki brat. Also, I need to add, but nearly half of those girls he kissed more than once," Nikaidō's smile widened, "aah... come to think of it, you kissed Rimyuel, like, 8 times, right?"

Before Jun could even process that, Keima was on the counter-attack.

"Half of the time it was girls who kissed me, including all but one kiss with Rimyuel," Keima said, "oh and you shouldn't be modest as well. Why don't you tell your precious junior that _you kissed me six times yourself_!"

"I only kissed you three times!" Nikaidō neared Keima, angry expression on her face. "You kissed me the first three times!"

"I didn't have any choice!" Keima shot back, getting closer as well. "You were deteriorating into a friggin' newborn and kissing was only thing that seemed to help!"

"Of course it would seem that way to you," Nikaidō said, "you can't do anything else beside kissing girls."

"At least I succeeded," Keima said, "you started this entire thing because you couldn't do it yourself, so you made the orb that would do the job for you and dragged me into this business!"

By this point Keima and Nikaidō were face-to-face, frustrated looks on their faces, when Jun separated them.

"Okay, calm down," the beginner teacher said, "Keima-kun, I have to say I'm shocked. I never thought you'd be such a playboy outside of games!"

"I. Was. Forced. To. Court. Real. Life. Girls. I. Hated!" Keima rebutted.

"Still, the very fact you succeeded speaks for itself."

"What she said," Nikaidō added.

"And you senpai!" Jun turned to Nikaidō with an angry expression. "I can't believe it. I looked up to you! I never thought you'd kiss your own student!"

"It was ten years ago!" Keima and Nikaidō exclaimed at the same time.

"So you knew each other for 10 years?" Jun asked.

"Not exactly," Keima said.

"Then what does that mean?"

Keima sighed. "It involves time traveling."

(* * *)

"Still think it was a good idea?" Nikaidō asked nearly hour later when her and Keima were sitting under the sunshade, while Jun went to buy drinks, probably to calm down and digest all what she had been told.

Or used that opportunity to run away from them as far as possible.

"I never said it was a good idea. I knew it would be difficult for all three of us, but it had to be done. It'd be unfair to keep Jun in the dark," Keima said back, his trusty console in his hand. Yuri frowned at that. When in stress Keima played his games. Jun watched wrestling. And what Yuri had? Going ballistic on delinquents? She sighed.

She really needed a hobby.

"Still, it seems it'll be easier for Jun to believe everything paranormal in our story than for me to believe you two are actually dating," Yuri said.

"We're both people with strong belief in ideals," Keima said, pointedly ignoring Nikaidō's obvious provocation, "as for the paranormal stuff, I guess we'd need proof."

"Like what?" Nikaidō asked.

Keima shrugged. "Eri. Diana. And I'm pretty sure you can conjure up Rimyuel if necessary, so that's plenty of proof."

"That reminds me of the time we told Rimyuel the truth," Nikaidō smirked, "I still can't decide which glare was better: yours or hers."

"Do we really need to talk about _that_ right now?"

Nikaidō sighed. "Alright, but I'll leave Eri and Diana to you," she said, "oh and one more thing. Jun's my junior and I do care about her, so you better treat her well."

"How about wishing she'd treat me well too?" Keima asked.

"She will," Nikaidō said, propping her cheek on her hand as she looked in the direction the other woman had left, "she's an idealist and supporter of people, after all."

The conversation was interrupted by the return of the said woman.

"Keima-kun! Nikaidō-senpai!" Jun waved at them. "I bought ice cream as well!"

The passionate teacher handed Keima and Nikaidō their ice cream and then sat down next to Keima, a cheerful expression on her face, which confused the two.

"Did something happen?" Keima asked. "You seem... happier."

"I bet it's denial," Nikaidō interjected, "I'm sure she doesn't believe half of what you told her, especially after you admitted how much of a liar were you."

"It's your fault I had to lie!" Keima glared at Nikaidō.

"Excuse me," the vein on Nikaidō's forehead started to pulse, "I never told you to lie!"

"You never told me anything!" Keima shot back. "You just conveniently did 'I don't know what to do, so let's leave it to fate to find a solution.' Accept responsibility for that!"

"Responsibility? I'm victim here as well!" Nikaidō leaned closer. "I'd like to see you make the sacrifices I've made!"

"Now, now, you shouldn't fight together," Jun was suddenly between the two of them, separating them again, like a kindergarten teacher pulling apart two 6-year old kids, "now, shake your hand and make up," she grabbed their hands and put them together, "just don't make out."

Keima and Nikaidō looked away embarrassed as they shook hands.

"So, let me see if I got this right," Jun turned to Nikaidō, "you're over 300 years-old devil reincarnated as human?"

"Well, y-yeah," Nikaidō said. Please, don't let Jun ask about her exact age.

"And you're a war hero and your previous self is... deceased?"

"Yes."

Jun closed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, nodding to herself. "I see."

"So you understand everything?" Keima asked, somewhat relieved.

"Nope," Jun said with disarming honesty, making Keima and Nikaidō face fault.

"I guess the next point will be letting Jun talk to Diana," Keima said when he got back from the ground, "I'd rather consult with her before trying with Rimyuel."

"I'll let you do that then," Nikaidō said as she stood up, "I'll be leaving you two then."

"Oh no, you don't!" Jun said as she grabbed Nikaidō's hand and pulled her back before grabbing Keima's hand as well and smiling. "I still have some business with both of you!"

"What business," Keima asked, but he knew the answer.

"You deceived me, remember? So both of you owe me compensation in return," Jun said before her smile grew wider, "thus, I think you two will follow me and treat me to a wrestling match!"

Keima and Nikaidō paled a little and started to spurt out complains and excuses, but Jun paid them no heed as she started to move. Keima and Nikaidō, two proud individuals, resisted but eventually had to admit defeat and resign themselves to their fates.

(* * *)

"Yeah, Akigawa! Go get 'em!" Jun was shouting with the rest of the audience. They were in a Narusawa Sports Center, watching a two versus two pro wrestling match; the competitors leaving the ring once in a while, to execute their sequences closer to the audience.

Jun was currently standing with half of the other watchers, while Keima and Nikaidō were sitting.

"I see wrestling matches aren't exactly news to you," Nikaidō remarked seeing as Keima was faring surprisingly well in all the yelling.

"I've been here with Jun on a date or two", the boy shrugged, "besides, you seem used to that as well."

It was Nikaidō's turn to shrug. "Me and Jun are co-workers now, so she had dragged me to a few matches after work."

"I didn't know the two of you were this close," Keima noticed.

"Wasn't it you who suggested I should hang out with people more?" Nikaidō said.

"I did, but that's still surprising."

"Anyway," Nikaidō said when looking at Jun getting more and more pumped up, "is that really okay? You know how she gets."

"It's alright," Keima said, "after what she heard today it's better she blows as much steam as possible."

Nikaidō never got to answer because Jun suddenly grabbed each of them by their hand and made them stand up in a one big exclamation of "OOH!"

"Could you sit down already?" Keima asked Jun, who obeyed... by sitting on his lap.

Nikaidō almost choked on her coke.

"W-what are you doing!?" Keima asked, his face red.

"What's with all these complaints?" Jun asked with a smile. "Besides, it's not like we haven't done something like this before."

"We were sitting half-and-half, not like this!" Keima said, but Jun pacified him with a kiss.

Nikaidō stayed quiet, focusing on a wrestling match like never before in her life.

(* * *)

"That was a great performance!" Jun said over two hours later as her and Keima were leaving the Maijima railway station holding hands after they had bid farewell to Nikaidō.

"Glad you enjoyed it," Keima said. The day didn't go perfectly, but Keima expected this and knew there'll be many days and many difficult questions from Jun before she'll truly accept his circumstances.

But all-in-all he was happy. The last month had proved that the two of them could work. Of course, it wasn't all roses as not only both of them were stubborn, but Jun was also really inexperienced with men, which had both its perks and problems. Yet, Keima was happy with his choice. It seem the two of them somehow managed to heal each other.

It seemed the two of them could have a happy ending, even if Keima Katsuragi couldn't see it yet.

With that being said, today was a little tiring physically and mentally and Keima's hands were itching for some galge gaming session. However, his evening with Jun was not over yet, as he had one more entry on his list of things to do. Fortunately, it was an event where he would be able to play his PFP.

"Remind me, why we're going to your house again?" Jun asked as if reading his mind.

"We're going to my neighbor's house," Keima answered.

"Why?"

"You wanted a proof, right? Then she'll be able to give you one."

"And if they're not home?"

"I already contacted her, so it won't be a problem."

"Her..." Jun mused, her eyes narrowing slightly, "Is she one of the girls you kissed, _Katsuragi_ -kun?" she hadn't called him that in a while.

"Yes," Keima replied calmly, not missing how the expression on Jun's face got more determined and she got closer to him, her hand squeezing his. He tried to place her possessiveness on a "from Tenri to Yui" scale and right now Jun has already advanced past Chihiro's level. Who would've thought.

"Are you jealous?" he asked, opting to deal with it quickly.

"Wha?" Jun asked, her face reddening, "w-who's jealous? I'm not jealous! Why would I be jealous?"

"It's no surprise given you personality, but your lying and acting skills are terrible," Keima said.

"Why you-" Jun said, but stopped when Keima kissed her, pretty much the only thing that was effective at shutting Jun up when she was on the roll. Not to mention she got better at this with practice too.

"Anyway," Keima said half a minute later, "we're stopping by my house first."

"Why?" Jun said, her face even more flushed.

"Well, I won't be doing much when you, Tenri and Diana will be talking," he said, "so I might as well grab a few other games."

'And my camera,' he added in his thought, as he was certain the moment Jun was going to see Diana in her winged form performing real magic would be worth immortalization.

 **(* * *)**

 **So yeah, that's pretty much it. Of course, there's more I could write, but there'd be no end to it, so I needed to end it somewhere and this is it. Let's wish Jun and Keima luck on the life road they decided to walk together. They'll need it. ;)**

 **Finally, I think I owe my other readers some explanation regarding my update frequency, especially on KanonNomi. I don't really have an excuse. It's a mix of laziness, other things eating my time and Kanon being difficult to write. It's especially difficult since I make thing as I go mostly and it's not coming easy.  
**

 **It would be easier to write one of my remaining one-shots I promised to write, but I have to write Kanon in-between them and since I wrote the third chapter of Clash of Ideals, then now is the time for the next KanonNomi chapter and that's what I'll be focusing on. After that I hope I'll be able to squeeze a one-shot about one of the girls I've planned to write about. Let's hope it goes well.**

 **In short, next thing I'm going to write is the next KanonNomi chapter and after that probably some one-shot.**

 **That's it for now.**

 **See you next time!**


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